Hi Guys,
I have been using this set for almost 2 weeks now and just thought I will write abt it.
And before starting, I cannot resist giving some history...
HISTORY
I wanted a surround set since 1999 when my cousin got one. His was a Cambridge Soundorks FOur Point Surround 4.1 set. It was better than the basic 5200,5400 5.1 sets from Creative. It had good bass which distorted less at high volumes.
I lusted after that set that whole trip to Mysore. At the end of it, my dad told me that he will get me a PC at the start of my engg and along with it a nice speaker set.
Since then, I coul not wait to finish my PU(That is what 11th and 12th is called in K'taka). And of course, I started researching on the ideal set long before I actually got one. Believe it or not, I started looking for a set from Nov 2003. At that time, I thought I will go for Creative 5.1 5200.
Then read some reviews abt it and decided that for my type of headbanging music, the distrotion was too much. Then had a look at all the speaker sets on the net with no price in mind.
At that time, I had a budget of around 7K in mind. Saw the Logitech Z-680 for 400$ or around 20K(This was when 1$ = approx 50Rs). Lusted after it but decided it was too expensive.
Then I decided on the 6.1 6600. It was for 7K at that time(sometime in Feb 2004). Then 7.1 released and decided I wanted that. For 9K. I already thought I was pushing my budget.
Then came across newegg.com and similar sites. Saw that the Z-680s were only 250$. It became damn cheap. Only 12K. But still, in India it was 26K. My dad and me seriously thought of importing it. But then checked out the courier costs and they alone came to 300$.(Only shipping). That idea went out of the window.
Then saw the Z-5300. But that was still my second choice.
As I was lusting after the Z-680s, the Z-5500 was released. The price of the Z-680 fell to 200$ or 9K. DAMN!!! How I wished I could get it from the US.
No one was coming from the US and those who were coming were not close enough to us for us to ask them to lug around 24KGs of speakers halfway across the world. Then my uncle went to Dubai and I requested him to get me a set of Z-680 or Z-5500. Turns out in Dubai of all places, there was no Z-680 available and the Z-5300 was for 13K. Decided it was not worth it and went back to drooling after the Z-680s on the net.
At that point, I started reading more and found that most reviews said that the Creative Megaworks 5.1 500 had better sound quality but the Logitechs won due to the decoder and various other digital inputs. Slowly started keeping the Creatives as my other choice.
MY dad wnet to Europe in Sept 2..4 but could not get any speakers as the excess baggage charge nullified any price advantage.
Finally, got the chance to go to Bangkok myself. And there, the Logitechs were kssing because Logitech does not have an office there :O But could not wait any longer and bought the Cambridge sounworks. :hap2:
PRESENT
I installed the set. Which is actually very easy. They have given 2 booklets. One giving instructions on how to fix the wires, the stand, the connections, etc... and the other mainly a troubleshooting booklet.
I had them uo and running within 30 mins which includes the time to open my computer, install my Audigy 2 ZS.
It also comes with a wired remote
. I wanted a wireless. But this remote is pretty good. It gives me control over everything. And it also has a headphone jack for those late night races on NFS. 
hyeah: Check out the remote HERE
And the first song I fired up on this set was Right here right now by Fatboy SLim. And it rocks. Even though it was 12:00 in the night, I could not help but increase the volume. And it really rocks. Of course, the file I had was a crappy MP3. So, it distorted at the highest volume and very slightly.
The next day, I fired up Du U hast and at 80% bass and 75% volume, the whole room vibrates. Even the window rattles. MAN!!!! :clap:
Any song sounds good on this. I actually listened to a whole Backstreet boys song. It is that good.
This system is a bit too powerful even for my room which is pretty big. So, the bass never exceeds 80% and the volume is always 75% and below.
I fired up some games. The first was NFS UG2. The best part is the sound of the engines. It drives me insane. Especially when I rev it to the redline and beyond. It is as if a car is right next to me. And eveyr gear shift is very clear. There is big thud in the whole room every time I shift up. And the NOS effects are even better. The whoosh of the air is amazing.
I also fired up some DVD-Audio which came with the soundcard and they did sound pretty good. I cannot comment more on that as I have nothing to compare it against.
And the stands are pretty neat. They come with a knob which fits into the back of the speaker. The stands feel very very well built. It feels like it can take anything. And they come with small rubber mounds at the end of each foot. This prevents it from slipping off. There is also a stand for the remote.
There are 4 identical stands for the 4 speakers and 1 slightly different stand as you can see in the pics for the centre speaker. SEE HERE
This is for the other staellite speakers http://img148.echo.cx/img148/1996/speakerset0051xd.jpg
The wires are also not hardwired like the Z-5500s. It is the clip on type. So, it is very easy to extend the length if it is insufficient for you. All you need to do is to buy some xtra zero-resolution speaker cable.
http://img28.echo.cx/img28/9441/speakerset0068lq.jpg
http://img28.echo.cx/img28/9379/speakerset0073zg.jpg This is the back of the subwoofer. With all the connections. Sorry for the dirty look but I didn't have time to clean it up coz' tomorrow, again there is going to be drilling in my room and it would be a waste.
Probably the only gripe I have with the actual hardware is that when I hang it on the wall using a nail, I cannot make the speaker face a particular direction. Meaning, they always face straight and horizontal like you see HERE
I want to make all the speakers face slightly downward and towards the centre of the room but it does not seem possible.
The stands given do not have any accomodation for hanging.
This image below shows the one disadvantage of this set..... That It always points straght and horizontal.... Cannot get it to point it downwards and towards the centre of the room.
Also.... here is another picture of the subwoofer...... You can actuallty feel the air being blown by the sub if you keep your leg near the port. It is really an amazing set........
But the other small touches that really please me. For exmaple, there are small rubber buttons with sticker at one side that you should put it on the back of the speakers while hanging them on the walls so that the vibrationsa recontained. And there are stickers given for each wire. After installing your set and finetuning the exact placements, you can put a sticker over the wire so you know exactly which wire that is(Fornt left, Centre, Rear right, etc...).
And they also come with screws and a screw holder for the wall... I do not know what it actually is. Well.....it the thing that you fix into a hole in the wall and into that thing goes the screw on whioch you can then hang the speaker.
Oh.... And abt movies.....
I watched Air Force One on my uncles' Actual Sony Home theatre system and just for a comparison, I wanted to watch it again.
There is only one word for it...... AWESOME. There is perfect clarity between all the five speakers. The correct term is perfect channelisation. When the fighter jest go to gaurd the aircraft, you cal feel the jets from the left speaker to the right speaker and then to the rear speaker.
For people who say that multimedia speakers will never match upto HTIBs(Home Theatre in a Box), all I can say to them is ----- GO TO HELL..(actually I want to saysomething else but I guess, it will be banned by the mods.... so.... :bleh:
And in CS Source, I can hear every single sound. Even if it is someone knocking over a pail or something. The very first time I played CSS on this set, when I heard someone shooting behind me, I REALLY turned around to look at my room door and by the time I realised that it was in the game, I was dead. It is really amazing. And the whole room vibrates when I fire a Magnum sniper rifle. And grenades exploding are reproduced perfectly....
And the main difference between these and the Logitechs are the Digital inputs. Well.... I do not really need them(cal lthem what you want...... maybe the story of the fox and the sour grapes
), but the fact is that I do not need it. I wanted the Logiutechs mainly for its' digital decoder. But then the Audigy 2 ZS decodes everything itself. So it does not really make a difference.
And I do not have a DVD player, Xbox or PS2 to connect to my computer or speakers. So, I do not need the digital inputs.
FUTURE
Hopefully, give my tendency to ruin things well before their expiry date, this will stand the test of time....umm.....make it test of Nikhil.
And the way things are going, I will be kicked out of my neighbourhood before this set gives way. :bleh:
Just yeterday, my neigbour turned up the volume on his TV to a very high level. I have a sneaky suspicion that he was trying to get back at me :tongue:
Finally ----- The price..... I got it for 17K including VAT. After reclaiming VAT from the airport, the price is some 15.xx K. Which I think is amazing seeing that here, it costs 25K.
I would recommend this set to anybody and everybidy except to those living in apartments. If you can spend 25K or 15K(to get it from abroad), it is worth it. The price is a little steep but well....... you cannot have the cake and eat it too..... :bleh:
Oh another thing..........this thing weighs 30 pounds or around 18KGs. So, you have to make sure that if you are getting it from abroad, you do not end up payi9ng excess baggage charge. THAI Airways were very liberal and though our luggage was 30 kilos over the limit, they didn't make a fuss. But many European and American airlnes are very strict abt that.
So.... Hope this review has been helpful to you all....
CONCLUSION ---- This is probably the best 5.1 multimedia set available....
I have been using this set for almost 2 weeks now and just thought I will write abt it.
And before starting, I cannot resist giving some history...
HISTORY
I wanted a surround set since 1999 when my cousin got one. His was a Cambridge Soundorks FOur Point Surround 4.1 set. It was better than the basic 5200,5400 5.1 sets from Creative. It had good bass which distorted less at high volumes.
I lusted after that set that whole trip to Mysore. At the end of it, my dad told me that he will get me a PC at the start of my engg and along with it a nice speaker set.
Since then, I coul not wait to finish my PU(That is what 11th and 12th is called in K'taka). And of course, I started researching on the ideal set long before I actually got one. Believe it or not, I started looking for a set from Nov 2003. At that time, I thought I will go for Creative 5.1 5200.
Then read some reviews abt it and decided that for my type of headbanging music, the distrotion was too much. Then had a look at all the speaker sets on the net with no price in mind.
At that time, I had a budget of around 7K in mind. Saw the Logitech Z-680 for 400$ or around 20K(This was when 1$ = approx 50Rs). Lusted after it but decided it was too expensive.
Then I decided on the 6.1 6600. It was for 7K at that time(sometime in Feb 2004). Then 7.1 released and decided I wanted that. For 9K. I already thought I was pushing my budget.
Then came across newegg.com and similar sites. Saw that the Z-680s were only 250$. It became damn cheap. Only 12K. But still, in India it was 26K. My dad and me seriously thought of importing it. But then checked out the courier costs and they alone came to 300$.(Only shipping). That idea went out of the window.
Then saw the Z-5300. But that was still my second choice.
As I was lusting after the Z-680s, the Z-5500 was released. The price of the Z-680 fell to 200$ or 9K. DAMN!!! How I wished I could get it from the US.
No one was coming from the US and those who were coming were not close enough to us for us to ask them to lug around 24KGs of speakers halfway across the world. Then my uncle went to Dubai and I requested him to get me a set of Z-680 or Z-5500. Turns out in Dubai of all places, there was no Z-680 available and the Z-5300 was for 13K. Decided it was not worth it and went back to drooling after the Z-680s on the net.
At that point, I started reading more and found that most reviews said that the Creative Megaworks 5.1 500 had better sound quality but the Logitechs won due to the decoder and various other digital inputs. Slowly started keeping the Creatives as my other choice.
MY dad wnet to Europe in Sept 2..4 but could not get any speakers as the excess baggage charge nullified any price advantage.
Finally, got the chance to go to Bangkok myself. And there, the Logitechs were kssing because Logitech does not have an office there :O But could not wait any longer and bought the Cambridge sounworks. :hap2:
PRESENT
I installed the set. Which is actually very easy. They have given 2 booklets. One giving instructions on how to fix the wires, the stand, the connections, etc... and the other mainly a troubleshooting booklet.
I had them uo and running within 30 mins which includes the time to open my computer, install my Audigy 2 ZS.
It also comes with a wired remote
. I wanted a wireless. But this remote is pretty good. It gives me control over everything. And it also has a headphone jack for those late night races on NFS. hyeah: Check out the remote HERE 
And the first song I fired up on this set was Right here right now by Fatboy SLim. And it rocks. Even though it was 12:00 in the night, I could not help but increase the volume. And it really rocks. Of course, the file I had was a crappy MP3. So, it distorted at the highest volume and very slightly.
The next day, I fired up Du U hast and at 80% bass and 75% volume, the whole room vibrates. Even the window rattles. MAN!!!! :clap:
Any song sounds good on this. I actually listened to a whole Backstreet boys song. It is that good.
This system is a bit too powerful even for my room which is pretty big. So, the bass never exceeds 80% and the volume is always 75% and below.
I fired up some games. The first was NFS UG2. The best part is the sound of the engines. It drives me insane. Especially when I rev it to the redline and beyond. It is as if a car is right next to me. And eveyr gear shift is very clear. There is big thud in the whole room every time I shift up. And the NOS effects are even better. The whoosh of the air is amazing.
I also fired up some DVD-Audio which came with the soundcard and they did sound pretty good. I cannot comment more on that as I have nothing to compare it against.
And the stands are pretty neat. They come with a knob which fits into the back of the speaker. The stands feel very very well built. It feels like it can take anything. And they come with small rubber mounds at the end of each foot. This prevents it from slipping off. There is also a stand for the remote.
There are 4 identical stands for the 4 speakers and 1 slightly different stand as you can see in the pics for the centre speaker. SEE HERE
This is for the other staellite speakers http://img148.echo.cx/img148/1996/speakerset0051xd.jpg
The wires are also not hardwired like the Z-5500s. It is the clip on type. So, it is very easy to extend the length if it is insufficient for you. All you need to do is to buy some xtra zero-resolution speaker cable.
http://img28.echo.cx/img28/9441/speakerset0068lq.jpg
http://img28.echo.cx/img28/9379/speakerset0073zg.jpg This is the back of the subwoofer. With all the connections. Sorry for the dirty look but I didn't have time to clean it up coz' tomorrow, again there is going to be drilling in my room and it would be a waste.
Probably the only gripe I have with the actual hardware is that when I hang it on the wall using a nail, I cannot make the speaker face a particular direction. Meaning, they always face straight and horizontal like you see HERE
I want to make all the speakers face slightly downward and towards the centre of the room but it does not seem possible.
The stands given do not have any accomodation for hanging.
This image below shows the one disadvantage of this set..... That It always points straght and horizontal.... Cannot get it to point it downwards and towards the centre of the room.
Also.... here is another picture of the subwoofer...... You can actuallty feel the air being blown by the sub if you keep your leg near the port. It is really an amazing set........
But the other small touches that really please me. For exmaple, there are small rubber buttons with sticker at one side that you should put it on the back of the speakers while hanging them on the walls so that the vibrationsa recontained. And there are stickers given for each wire. After installing your set and finetuning the exact placements, you can put a sticker over the wire so you know exactly which wire that is(Fornt left, Centre, Rear right, etc...).
And they also come with screws and a screw holder for the wall... I do not know what it actually is. Well.....it the thing that you fix into a hole in the wall and into that thing goes the screw on whioch you can then hang the speaker.
Oh.... And abt movies.....
I watched Air Force One on my uncles' Actual Sony Home theatre system and just for a comparison, I wanted to watch it again.
There is only one word for it...... AWESOME. There is perfect clarity between all the five speakers. The correct term is perfect channelisation. When the fighter jest go to gaurd the aircraft, you cal feel the jets from the left speaker to the right speaker and then to the rear speaker.
For people who say that multimedia speakers will never match upto HTIBs(Home Theatre in a Box), all I can say to them is ----- GO TO HELL..(actually I want to saysomething else but I guess, it will be banned by the mods.... so.... :bleh:
And in CS Source, I can hear every single sound. Even if it is someone knocking over a pail or something. The very first time I played CSS on this set, when I heard someone shooting behind me, I REALLY turned around to look at my room door and by the time I realised that it was in the game, I was dead. It is really amazing. And the whole room vibrates when I fire a Magnum sniper rifle. And grenades exploding are reproduced perfectly....
And the main difference between these and the Logitechs are the Digital inputs. Well.... I do not really need them(cal lthem what you want...... maybe the story of the fox and the sour grapes
), but the fact is that I do not need it. I wanted the Logiutechs mainly for its' digital decoder. But then the Audigy 2 ZS decodes everything itself. So it does not really make a difference. And I do not have a DVD player, Xbox or PS2 to connect to my computer or speakers. So, I do not need the digital inputs.
FUTURE
Hopefully, give my tendency to ruin things well before their expiry date, this will stand the test of time....umm.....make it test of Nikhil.
And the way things are going, I will be kicked out of my neighbourhood before this set gives way. :bleh:
Just yeterday, my neigbour turned up the volume on his TV to a very high level. I have a sneaky suspicion that he was trying to get back at me :tongue:
Finally ----- The price..... I got it for 17K including VAT. After reclaiming VAT from the airport, the price is some 15.xx K. Which I think is amazing seeing that here, it costs 25K.
I would recommend this set to anybody and everybidy except to those living in apartments.
If you can spend 25K or 15K(to get it from abroad), it is worth it. The price is a little steep but well....... you cannot have the cake and eat it too..... :bleh: Oh another thing..........this thing weighs 30 pounds or around 18KGs. So, you have to make sure that if you are getting it from abroad, you do not end up payi9ng excess baggage charge. THAI Airways were very liberal and though our luggage was 30 kilos over the limit, they didn't make a fuss. But many European and American airlnes are very strict abt that.
So.... Hope this review has been helpful to you all....
CONCLUSION ---- This is probably the best 5.1 multimedia set available....
